Graduation

It just happened to be that this weekend two of Blake's brothers also graduated-- Tyler from HS and BJ from college. We are so proud of them both, and we're so glad we were there to celebrate with them! It couldn't have been a better weekend for us to be in town, especially since Blake's grandparents and Aunt were in town from Texas.

Tyler and his girlfriend, Natalia

Blake got an early birthday present, and he was really surprised! His mom, dad, and grandparents went in together and got him a keyboard with weighted keys. Honestly, it's a gift to me too because I LOVE listening to him play the piano.

Sisters.

All the boys + wife + girlfriend.

Left to right: BJ, Austin, Tyler, Natalia, Me, Blake, and Justin(front)

Blake and I with Mimi

Meeting Baby Samuel

I can't remember the last time Blake and I were both able to go up to Atlanta, but fortunately we both had this weekend off and got to meet our newest nephew. He is 7lb 13oz of pure cuteness and cuddliness! I don't know if you can tell in these pictures, but he has strawberry blonde hair -- I love it.

I wanted to keep up a tradition to make a baby blanket for each nephew/niece. Here's baby Samuel's blanket :)

Of course, we haven't forgotten about James. We had just as much fun seeing him again and also celebrating his 2nd birthday on Monday. He has so much energy-- non-stop running, jumping, talking, singing, dancing, etc. He is still trying to grasp the fact that a new baby has moved in, but I have no doubt that he's going to be a great "big brother" to Samuel.

We filled up a pool for him on the back porch, which he thought was a blast!

He copied his dog, after watching him drink the water with his tongue.

His favorite phrase while holding the hose was, "I get Ju-wee!"

...I made sure to get him back.

And the inevitable happened -- he left a Baby Ruth in the bottom of the pool (at which time I immediately got out of the pool.) I'll hold tight to this photo to later remind James of what a dedicated father he has... ha!

new favorite picture:

more to come later :)

Brothers

Ok... just one more post, and then I swear I'll go back to studying. But can we all just look at this and say BROTHERS???

James Montgomery Hunter -- 5/30/09

Robert Samuel Hunter -- 5/22/11

more...

Can't wait to hold this little guy next weekend! Did I mention he has strawberry blonde hair??

Robert "Samuel" Hunter

7lb 13oz, 19.25in

Born 5/22/11 @ 2:24pm

Welcome to the world, little man! Another nephew makes life even more exciting.

despite our arguments...

and all of the times you wake me up at 5am, meowing... I still really like your company on the nights Blake is on-call. You're not too bad, you sleepy furball.

Surgery

Blake started his surgery rotation yesterday. It's notorious for being the hardest rotation to get through-- it's high stress, your constantly on your feet, some surgeons are not the friendliest, and you have to ignore all bodily needs to eat, sleep, and go to the bathroom. The first surgery he scrubbed in for was a leg amputation.

"I can totally see the appeal of surgery. It was really awesome cutting off that guy's leg!"

That's just a snippet of the normal, every-day things that come out of our mouths ;-)

Just Because

Growing up, I used to always look forward to visiting Bertie who would serve me breakfast on her fine China (just because) and read fairy tails to me while I soaked in a bath with bubbles up to my chin. Now that I think back on it, I'm amazed that she was never concerned her China would be broken by letting a 6 year old eat off of it. I suppose she would rather take that risk than to let them stay locked away in a cabinet, collecting dust. Bertie taught me how to make the most of each moment, how to find laughter in every situation, and she knew how to make people feel special.

I couldn't help but think of her this morning, as we ate Sunday brunch off of my fine China with friends. We weren't celebrating a special occasion-- no birthday, wedding, or holiday. But that's the point. Sometimes you have to pull out the China "just because".

It's Growin'!

Woohoo! Our garden is GROWING! We have just the perfect area to make a small herb garden in our back patio. Thriving, we have basil, dill, oregano, chocolate peppermint, spearmint, cilantro, and parsley. Still waiting to bloom are poppies, strawberries, tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash. I'm happy with the results, so far :)

Oh, and this chocolate mint ice cream I made from the garden.... insane.

Two Coats

As I threw on my white coat this morning, Blake looked over at me and smiled. He said, "oh yeah, you have Grand Rounds today! You might have people come up and introduce themselves to you... you're in my world now!" :-)

I had my first day of Grand Rounds today. Grand Rounds is basically an hour session at the hospital for students and physicians to attend and learn about a specific topic. We all sit in a dimly-lit auditorium and listen to someone way smarter than us (only hoping his/her intellect will somehow rub off on us.) Today's speaker talked about kidney transplants in HIV+ patients, and the complications you might encounter.

While I didn't understand everything he talked about, it was really interesting and motivated me to keep reading, studying, and learning new things. I love to learn, and PA school is constantly stimulating my curiosity.

I came home and hung my white coat up on the hook. I never thought two white coats would decorate our walls, but I like it :)

call for prayer

I'll keep it simple. We need clarity and direction. Blake has about 2 months left before he has to decide what speciality to pursue, and we've explored every option you can imagine-- pediatrics, cardiology, IM/ER, rehab med, family med, intensive care, ENT, ophthalmology, etc. His problem is not that he doesn't like anything... it's that he liked everything. But come July, there needs to be a chosen path.

We would covet your prayers, as we sift through the options a little longer. Pray for clarity, direction, and peace in making such a big decision. It's difficult to make a decision like this because you have to weigh multiple factors:

life-style --> some specialties are easier/harder on family life. Will he always be gone, or will he be able to be around more when we have a family?

training --> residency programs can range from 3yrs to 7yrs+. If he chooses a specialty with a longer residency, does he want it badly enough to not get burned out?

future outlook --> even before we were engaged, we talked about our desire to either live or work overseas. Will his chosen specialty translate and be applicable overseas?

patient-physician relationship --> some specialties allow more patient-physician relationship due to continued care, etc. Others may not. I know Blake really wants to make an impact in patients' lives and truly desires that patient-physician relationship. I tell him that he should have been "Doc Baker" from Little House on the Prarie :)

salary --> unfortunately, it's something you have to consider when you have to pay back the kind of loans we've accrued.

So long story, short... we're asking for prayer. We genuinely want what God has for us, but we're uncertain of what that might be. I'm a big believer in the power of prayer... so pray on!